![The ocean and marine ecosystems capture and store carbon. Picture via Eurobodalla Shire Council The ocean and marine ecosystems capture and store carbon. Picture via Eurobodalla Shire Council](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/1706ddcc-6dd3-43ab-8c8b-9f0900217cc0.jpeg/r0_84_1650_854_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Amazon rainforest is renowned for capturing and storing carbon.
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Less well known is that our coastal ecosystems are far more effective 'carbon sinks'.
Research has shown that mangroves and saltmarsh, as used in Wagonga Inlet's Living Shoreline, store more carbon per hectare than tropical forest.
![Mean long-term rates of C sequestration (g C m2 yr1) in soils in terrestrial forests and sediments in vegetated coastal ecosystems. Error bars indicate maximum rates of accumulation. Note the logarithmic scale of the y axis. Source: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, January 20, 2011, by McLeod, Chmura,et al Mean long-term rates of C sequestration (g C m2 yr1) in soils in terrestrial forests and sediments in vegetated coastal ecosystems. Error bars indicate maximum rates of accumulation. Note the logarithmic scale of the y axis. Source: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, January 20, 2011, by McLeod, Chmura,et al](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/340f9939-fdd4-4f33-98f6-b2f48c073ab4.png/r0_0_645_453_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
![Eurobodalla Shire Council's natural resource and sustainability coordinator Heidi Thomson and natural resource management officer James Caffery inspect progress at the Wagonga Inlet Living Shoreline project in Narooma. Picture by Marion Williams Eurobodalla Shire Council's natural resource and sustainability coordinator Heidi Thomson and natural resource management officer James Caffery inspect progress at the Wagonga Inlet Living Shoreline project in Narooma. Picture by Marion Williams](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/9fa46bd7-eaa4-4e40-8ba5-639a6ff88a55.jpeg/r0_48_1031_664_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Blue carbon
This is called blue carbon - carbon captured by the world's oceans and coastal ecosystems.
Dr Jane Elek, a retired biological scientist, is concerned that the marine environment's capacity to capture and store carbon is undervalued.
From working in forests in Tasmania and elsewhere, she is aware of the huge movement to protect forests and strong emotional attachment to forest.
"Then I saw this graph with the rainforests that are supposed to be one of the largest carbon sinks, showing that mangroves are considered to be up to 35 times as effective per hectare.
"Saltmarsh sequestration is considered to be similar to mangroves and seagrass slightly less effective," Dr Elek said.
![Mangroves along Tomago River. Picture by Jen Thompson Mangroves along Tomago River. Picture by Jen Thompson](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/feb92716-39d4-452d-90c4-c67f0caf136e.jpg/r0_94_2480_1488_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Those three ecosystems have been used in Wagonga Inlet's Living Shoreline.
One reason they are so effective is that they store most of the carbon in the soil while forests store it in their wood and foliage which eventually decompose, releasing the carbon.
"Because of the anaerobic nature of the mud in these saline ecosystems the carbon doesn't decompose and is stored long term if left undisturbed.
"People don't understand the value of those three marine environments for taking carbon out of the atmosphere and locking it up," Dr Elek said.
![New foreshore profile with saltmarsh plantings taking hold to create Wagonga Inlet's Living Shoreline. Picture by The Nature Conservancy Australia New foreshore profile with saltmarsh plantings taking hold to create Wagonga Inlet's Living Shoreline. Picture by The Nature Conservancy Australia](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/a9a4965d-cd9b-47f6-aeed-60cbd9ea2974.jpeg/r399_195_2040_970_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Other benefits of these ecosystems
Through adding structure and food, coastal ecosystems become hubs for wildlife such as fish, crabs, rays, shorebirds and many more.
The roots of all these systems not only trap and store a lot of carbon but also provide the most effective type of shoreline protection available.
Coastlines are dynamic in nature so the saltmarsh, mangroves and seagrass respond to this and minimise coastal erosion.
Many factors vary the sequestration, storage and habitat capacity of blue carbon systems but human impacts trump all.
The are no ecosystem services if these habitats are gone.
![An example of mangroves being encroached by development. Picture by Jane Elek An example of mangroves being encroached by development. Picture by Jane Elek](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/57b0af86-ba10-43d4-805a-eceab0c186ea.jpg/r25_149_1600_1049_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The threat from coastal development
Because seagrass, saltmarsh and mangroves store so much carbon in the soil, the carbon is released back into the atmosphere if disturbed.
"When people build on the coast they don't like smelly mangroves and mow their lawns down to the foreshore, damaging the saltmarsh," Dr Elek said.
"Restoration projects like the Living Shoreline are good but it is more important we preserve what we have."